Yields roots and quality Cichorium intubus L. depending on the timing of sowing

Abstract

The term of sowing is one of the main elements of the technology of growing chicory witloof salad, because, even without minimal costs, it increases the productivity of root crops. The term of sowing chicory witloof salad are due to their biological properties: germination of seeds at low soil temperatures and resistance of young plants to spring frosts. Purpose. To identify the optimal timing of sowing chicory witloof salad, which will provide the largest yield of standard root crops for cultivation in the conditions of the Right Bank Forest-steppe of Ukraine. Methods. Field evaluations of biometric indices, productivity, calculation and analytical. Research methodology. The effect of the sowing time on the yield of chicory witloof salad was studied. The research was conducted during 2014–2017 on the experimental field of the Uman National University of Horticultural. Three sowing periods were investigated - I decade of May, II decade of May and ІІІ decade of May. The total area of the research field is 15 m², the repetition of the research is four times. Caesar variety was chosen as an object of research. Scheme of sowing 45 x 10 cm. Phenological observations, biometric and physiological-biochemical studies were carried out according to the methods of G. L. Bondarenko, K. I. Yakovenko, V. F. Moiseychenko. Results. It was established that the mass of commercial root crops in technical maturity and yield were higher than the early spring sowing on May 10. During the late spring sowing on May 30, the smallest weight and yield of root crops were observed in the chicory witloof salad.Mass germination (75%) for all sowing periods was observed in a month. Full germination was noted in June, and was marked for sowing May 10 - July 7–10, for sowing May 20 - July 19–20, May 30 - July 25–28. It was established that more than one plant per square meter was received for sowing on May 10 and 20. At different terms, the harvesting of root crops, the number of leaflets and the weight of the root crop was almost the same, so they were the largest in the early sowing and late harvesting. Comparing the time of sowing and the harvesting of root crops of chicory witloof salad, it is established that the yield of root crops of chicory witloof salad is most influenced by the duration of the vegetative period of the first year of life. So, for sowing the salad on May 20, the duration of the vegetative period of the plants decreased by 10 days and accordingly the weight of one root was reduced by 6-8 g and the whole plant by 12–25 g in comparison with the control. The highest coefficient of root crops more suitable for distillation of cabbage, obtained in variants with a long vegetative period of 140–150 days. The qualitative characteristic of root crops of chicory witloof salad shows that the content of dry matter and sugars in the root crops of chicory witloof salad is higher at the later harvesting times than in the early times. The content of vitamin C from the time of sowing and harvesting did not have a significant impact.Conclusions. It is established that in the Right-bank Forest-steppe of Ukraine the term of sowing and harvesting the chicory witloof salad, changing the duration of vegetation of plants, significantly influences the yield and yield of standard root crops, and also has a negligible effect on the biochemical indices of the quality of root crops.

Key words: chicory salad, witloof, weight, time, yield